©
National Instruments Corporation
3-1
Fiber-Optic MXI-Express x4 for PXI Express User Manual
3
Hardware Overview
This chapter presents an overview of Fiber-Optic MXI-Express x4
hardware functionality and explains the operation of each functional unit.
Functional Overview
Fiber-Optic MXI-Express x4 is based on PCI Express technology.
A Fiber-Optic MXI-Express x4 kit uses PCI Express switches to enable
control of a PXI Express or CompactPCI Express chassis from a PC with
an available PCI Express slot. The PCI Express switch architecture is
transparent to device drivers, so no additional software is needed to support
using PXI Express and CompactPCI Express devices in a chassis connected
using Fiber-Optic MXI-Express x4.
Note
The PXI Platform Services software on the
PXI Platform Services
CD or driver CD
included with your PXI Express Fiber-Optic MXI-Express x4 hardware is required to
provide chassis and controller identification for PXI features such as trigger routing and
slot detection. The PXI Platform Services software is also included with the NI-DAQmx
and NI-VISA drivers. For more information, refer to KnowledgeBase 3TJDOND8
at
ni.com
.
The link between the PC and the chassis is a x4 PCI Express link. This link
is a dual-simplex communication channel comprised of low-voltage,
differentially driven signal pairs. The link can transmit at a rate of 10 Gbps
in each direction simultaneously, though protocol overhead and other
inefficiencies will reduce the achievable throughput.
Figure 3-1 shows the basic architecture of Fiber-Optic MXI-Express x4.
The NI PCIe-8375 consists of a PCI Express x4 card edge connector, a PCI
Express switch, and one cabled Fiber-Optic MXI-Express x4 connector.
The NI PXIe-8375 consists of two cabled Fiber-Optic MXI-Express x4
connectors, a PCI Express switch, and two PXI Express connectors.